Articles in the 2016 Category

Teacher Plus profiles Islamabad based artist, filmmaker, and educator Fouzia Minallah who aims to inspire in children a love of art that thrives in their surroundings and their traditions, not just in books, art galleries, and the Internet.

What is the role of art in the school curriculum today? Most of us believe in the value that art adds to a child’s education, but how does one make a case to show that the arts are not dispensable? True, what Art brings to a child’s development is beyond school academics; but perhaps to allow the arts to flourish within a school curriculum, we have to find justifications of its importance within the curriculum.

Why are the arts so important in school you ask? Because they are the best means of helping children open up and express themselves, thereby giving teachers a true understanding of their students. Teachers can then make use of this knowledge in the way they teach their students.

Education is given to children so that they can lead good, complete lives tomorrow. The purpose of art education is no different. Art must be taught in schools to help nurture a child’s natural senses so that they understand the world better and therefore live their lives better.

Why should art be taught in schools? Obviously not every student becomes an artist. There is a limit to using arts to teach other subjects. And as for the attitudes and ways of thinking that art develops, there are other ways too to enhance human values. So why teach art? Art helps all of us, even the non-artists, appreciate beauty and express emotions when we find words limiting. And that is an important thing to learn in today’s world.

Government school teachers in Karnataka are being given a fillip in their teaching careers. India Foundation for the Arts, an organization set up for the promotion of education in the arts in India, is training these teachers in good teaching practices using the arts, thereby opening up more and more teachers to the idea of using art to teach.

The multiple intelligence theory is quite a popular theory but perhaps not always a practical one. How should a teacher with 60 children in class cater to each student’s intelligence and finish teaching her subject? The answer might lie in a film making project.

Why is art always seen as an “extra” curricular activity in school? Art can and should become an integral part of the learning system. From her 40 years of using art as a medium of teaching, the author tells readers how art can be integrated into everyday schooling.